Page 120 - Free the Idea Monkey

Encourage Graffiti. Want a sim-
ple way to foster a culture of inno-
vation and find out who has hidden
strengths? Allow people to draw on
the walls. One thing that works par-
ticularly well for our firm when we are
looking for new insights, or ways to
tweak a product or service offering, is
to paper the walls of a room with flip
chart sheets. We write thought-start-
ers and headlines that relate directly
to the challenge at hand. For a vacuum
project, we might post headlines like
“things that pick stuff up,” or “the
cleanest surfaces in your house.”

Then we ask everyone—no matter where they are in the organi-
zation or what their title—to drop by the room a few times and have
some fun. We tell them, “Build on others’ ideas.” Cut out pictures.
Draw. Make connections. Once the walls are filled, schedule mini-

meetings where you moderate a discus-
sion among small groups of partici-
pants to take the ideas further.
Here’s the best part. You
won’t have to sell this idea. The
room becomes a magnet. You
will quickly get new ideas and
you’ll see who has the ability to

connect, build and reinvent. This costs nothing but time and often
results in astoundingly fresh thinking.

105C H A P T E R 7